The License Lab

02/28/2025

Proud of this special Black History Month release on our Analog Champion label (the label built entirely with era-specific recording and production techniques). This album is a collection of public domain Negro spirituals from history, arranged by Tiffany Wilson and performed a ca****la (we added some minimal piano, organ, and guitar on a few songs after the choir was recorded).

There's a bit more in the write-up at our own Lab Notes :

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/spirituals

08/06/2024

With crazy quick news cycles, all the sports, press-tour interviews, and an endless number of true crime mysteries to unlock, podcasts are a fantastic way to consume all sorts of stories.

But before you get into the meat and potatoes of the podcast, there's the intro.

A good intro hooks potential new followers while exciting returning ones, setting the stage for whatever comes next. And good intros (usually) have compelling music that matches the tone and welcomes the listener into your world.

In this playlist, we assembled tracks with clear cut applications along with hidden gems that stray just a bit outside the conventional. Find the right track that matches the story and makes your intro, sponsor break, or teaser stand out from the noise.

08/02/2024

Don’t underestimate the power of a musical accent.

Our Picture Puncture label is home to some of our boldest, heroic, and most dynamic music. But it’s also where we keep our collection of bespoke workparts, unique sound design elements, and textures that contribute to a standout score.

These Emphatic Elements are the details that can transform kinda creepy into bone-chilling, adventurous into awe-inspiring, and curiosity into anticipation.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/emphatic-elements

07/29/2024

Taiko drums have become a standard part of the adventure/drama soundtrack toolbox. The percussive giants contain a unique and spacious quality that adds gravity to whatever they score.

But with a continent as large and rich with musical tradition as Asia, there are so many other instruments that contain distinct characteristics, depth, and drama that tell stories of their own.

Asian Drama (MOPM-094) is an adventurous soundtrack full of twists and turns, peril and intrigue, including tracks that feature authentic instrumentation like taisho koto, hulusi flute, guzheng, and khim.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/asian-drama

07/25/2024

Get inside the creative process of multi-hyphenate artist Sean Wolcott with this interview on our blog, Lab Notes.

From creating his own "movies for the mind" film scores to restoring tapes for The Beach Boys to composing niche genre albums for Analog Champion, Sean Wolcott shares not only how he works, but more importantly why he works the way he does.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/call-and-response-sean-wolcott

07/22/2024

We began with Olympic Inspiration, a playlist created to score the journeys and struggles on the road to Paris 2024.

Now it's time for the Olympic Push.

These athletes know what they need to do to win, and now it comes down to mindset and ex*****on. Balancing out the hype and power, this playlist also features low-key good vibes that set a positive tone for the next set, race, and game.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/new-playlist-alert-olympic-stories

07/17/2024

Curation is the act of searching, sorting, and selecting from a larger body of work. An art unto itself, the direction of a cohesive collection is determined by whoever is telling the story.

This playlist has been curated by composer and songwriter Will Bush.

As one half of the synth-forward, genre-bending band Immortal Girlfriend, the man behind the cinematic, anti-hero soundtracks of Black Challenger, and composer of production music albums like retro synth inspired Under the Surface v3, Will is an ideal candidate to curate an exhibition of the synthesizer.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/curated-by-will-bush

07/15/2024

Olympic Inspiration begins with the national anthem of the 2024 host nation before an inspiring soundtrack channels the scope of the opening ceremonies. These tracks are for overcoming adversity, battling back from injury, narrowly coming up short, tragic losses, and unexpected twists in the tale.

But the road has led them to an opportunity to win Olympic gold. This playlist is all about the journey to Paris 2024.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/new-playlist-alert-olympic-stories

07/11/2024

Color outside the lines. Stand out in a crowded space.

Despite increasingly niche subgenres and cross-genre collaborations, there will always be those who push those boundaries. These Distinct Indie Darlings stretch the possibilities.

Oh, and as with all releases on our LMNTL Records label, they just happen to be crafted with the utility of production music for easy sync placements.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/distinct-indie-darlings

07/08/2024

From global events like the Euros ⚽ to domestic championships like the Super Bowl 🏈 , the calendar seems to jump from sport to sport, season to season, like a never-ending merry-go-round of athletic competition.

Until the Olympics.

For the Paris 2024 Olympics, we’ve assembled two distinct playlists for different chapters of an athlete’s dream, a team’s ambition, or a nation’s hopes.

07/02/2024

Not all heroes wear capes. But villains often do... at least in galaxies far, far away.

Inspired by the magic of bingeable fantasy sagas and summer sci-fi blockbusters, our Blades + Blasters playlist features booming, ground-shaking, and epic soundtrack options that can give your next fantasy/sci-fi saga (or podcast about an existing saga) the proper anthemic and dramatic flair.

And because new adventures are always being written, Blades + Blasters has been rebooted with inspiration straight from the "Suggested" and "Newly Added" sections of your favorite streaming service.

https://s.disco.ac/yhbfwpawlwfa

06/25/2024

If creative briefs frequently come across your desk that are born out of whiteboard brainstorm sessions with broad... perhaps contradictory keywords, add these albums featuring Ambitious Blends to your arsenal.

Full of esoteric genres not normally found in production music catalogs, our Dancing About Architecture label might just have you covered.

https://blog.licenselab.com/blog/ambitious-blends